Table talk

The Utah State Fair's Living Arts Handbooks are now available.These books contain entry deadlines, rules and forms for enteringState Fair food competitions, including cooking contests sponsored byvarious food companies. Call 538-8400 for a handbook, or downloadrules and entry forms at www.utahstatefair.com.

Scoopology, a new dessert boutique, opens Thursday at 7710 S.Union Park Ave. The store lets customers create their own treatsusing ice cream, cookie dough, cereal, Pop Tarts, Jell-O and toppingssuch as candy bars, gummy worms and sprinkles. Several ice creamflavors and one sorbet are available daily. Customers can also custom-mix take-and-bake cookie dough from base doughs and mix-ins, such aschocolate chips and nuts (562-8937).

The Grand America is hosting "Farmers Market in the Garden," at6:30 p.m. Friday. The menu, created by chef Jeffrey Russell, features produce grown by Utah farmers. Dinner is $35; optional winepairing is $35 (258-6708).

Harmons Grocery Stores celebrated the company's 74th birthday byunveiling a new delicatessen and Internet Cafe at the BrickyardStore, 3270 S. 1300 East. Onsite chefs provide take-away entrees,such as sushi, cedar-plank salmon, baby back ribs and lasagna. Thesalad bar has 25 fresh-cut vegetables and fruit, a potato bar andsoup. The bakery now sports an artisan bread hearth imported fromGermany and an onsite cheese monger will offer information about the75 different cheeses available. Customers can order meats and cheesesat a kiosk with a touch screen computer and then come back and pickup their order later.

Restaurants & Institutions magazine last week named ts 2006Consumers' Choice in Chains winners. In a national survey, 3,100restaurant customers rated 120 chain restaurants on food quality,menu variety, value, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, reputation andconvenience.

Top winners were: In-N-Out Burger, Sweet Tomatoes, The CheesecakeFactory, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks Coffee, Cracker Barrel, Carrabba'sItalian Grill, Don Pablo's, Papa Murphy's, Panera Bread, Red Lobster,Outback Steakhouse and Jamba Juice.

The Bridge (formerly Coffee Under the Bridge) is celebrating itsthird year in business at 511 W. 200 South. It offers vegan andorganic baked goods and $6 daily lunch specials. Hours are 9 a.m.-9p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. New owner VicBack is a tattoo artist at Good Times Tatoo next door to The Bridge.

Deseret Book is hosting "The Cookie Passion Contest" incelebration of the Lion House's 150th anniversary. Readers can submittheir favorite cookie recipe. The top pick will be sold in the LionHouse Pantry stores during November. Entries must be cookies or barsmade from scratch; one entry per person. Deadline is noon on Sept.12. Food professionals are not eligible. Submit two copies of therecipe to the following Lion House Pantry locations in Deseret Bookstores: American Fork, Fort Union, Harrisville, Logan, UniversityMall and Spanish Fork.

Finn's Cafe is open for business at 1624 S. 1100 East. It's run bythe Gurholt family, which owned Finn's Restaurant, a Utah dininglandmark for 50 years, at the top of Parleys Way. Finn and GreteGurholt opened the original restaurant in 1950. The new cafe is ownedby Finn's son (also Finn) and granddaughter Heidi Gurholt. Finn'sCafe features a juice-and-espresso bar and full-service bakery. It'sopen for breakfast and lunch, seven days a week, with dishes such asNorwegian waffles with lingonberries and sour cream, sourdoughpancakes and wiener schnitzel.

E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com